Northern Dutchess Hospital expansion to be discussed by developer, Rhinebeck village officials

RHINEBECK, N.Y. -- Village officials will meet on Feb. 13 with developers of the proposed 80,000-square-foot expansion of Northern Dutchess Hospital.

The session is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Village Hall at 76 E. Market St.

"I haven't seen any detailed plans of it, yet," Mayor James Reardon said. "I support the idea of an expansion. To me it's job creation, money back into the economy. I haven't seen the entire proposal, how it's going to affect us from a tax perspective, so that's the idea of coming to do a presentation to the board on what their plan is."

Representatives for developer Kirchoff Companies in September told school district officials the project is estimated to cost $30 million for a three-story structure.

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Under the plan the structure would be owned by Kirchoff Companies and eventually turned over to Northern Dutchess Hospital, which is currently operated by Health Quest Medical Systems. Expansion would include three floors of 25,000-square-feet each, with new medical office space on the first floor, 40 single-occupancy patient rooms on the second floor, six new operating rooms on the third floor, and a basement of about 5,000 square feet.

Other projects would include expanding the parking area, landscaping and upgrading utilities.

Reardon said Northern Dutchess Hospital has a good reputation for cooperating with municipal officials when there have been difficulties impacting services.

Developer Joe Kirchoff in September said the second and third floors will be exempt from taxes because there will be direct hospital services but the first floor needs a tax break because there will be rented professional space.

School officials in September noted a review of property value increases needs to be conducted because the project would not be owned by the hospital and a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes plan could count against the district's tax levy increase limit.

Project manager Jeff Kane said Kirchoff Companies has been working with the Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency to provide tax breaks for construction.

"We're continuing to work with the taxing jurisdiction on a (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) program as part of a proposal to make this a Dutchess County IDA project," he said.